Keir Starmer vows to get rid of ‘indefensible’ House of Lords in first term

Sir Keir Starmer said he would abolish the ‘indefensible’ House of Lords ‘as quickly as possible’ if he became prime minister.

The Labour leader did not commit to a timeframe for replacing the upper chamber with an elected assembly of nations and regions, but told reporters it would ideally be within his first term.

When pressed whether he would try to get rid of hereditary peers in his first few weeks in Downing Street, Sir Keir said ‘the sooner we can abolish them the better’.

It forms part of Labour’s blueprint for a ‘New Britain’ following a commission led by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Promising sweeping changes to the economic and political landscape, Sir Keir billed the commission’s proposals as ‘the biggest ever transfer of power from Westminster to the British people’.

Speaking alongside Mr Brown in Leeds today, Sir Keir directly addressed voters outside London: ‘You are being held back. Held back by a system that hoards power in Westminster.

‘This broken model has held back our politics and held back our economy and I am determined we unbind ourselves and free our potential.

The House of Lords is made up of unelected and hereditary peers

‘The centre has not delivered. I don’t want it to fall apart. I want us to build something new.’

He said the country was ‘crying out for a new approach’, suggesting Leave voters in 2016 wanted more control over their lives.

‘People know Britain needs change but they are never going to get it from the Tories,’ he said.

‘If Labour wins next election, Britain will see a change not just in who governs, but how we are governed. Together we can build an economy not just for the many, but by the many and of the many.’

Among Labour’s 40 proposals is a call to give local communities new powers over skills, transport, planning and culture to drive growth.

Many former MPs and party donors get seats in the Lords for their loyalty to prime ministers (Picture: Roger Harris)

There would be an explicit requirement to rebalance the economy and spread prosperity and investment more equally across the UK.

Towns, cities and other areas would also be brought together as part of a co-ordinated economic strategy, with some 50,000 civil service jobs transferred out of London.

Meanwhile, the report advocates extra powers for Scotland and Wales, with restored and strengthened devolution in Northern Ireland.

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Sir Keir added: ‘During the Brexit referendum I argued for Remain, but I couldn’t disagree with the basic case that many Leave voters made to me.

‘They wanted democratic control over their lives so they could provide opportunities for the next generation, build communities they felt proud of, and public services they could rely on.

‘And I know that in the Scottish referendum in 2014, many of those who voted “Yes” did so for similar reasons, the same frustration at a Westminster system that seems remote.’

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Sir Keir Starmer has promised ‘the biggest ever transfer of power from Westminster to the British people’.